NFLPA takes issue with Spirit Airlines bullying joke

Last week, Spirit Airlines’ modern-day Mad Men lost their marbles when coming up with an ad campaign that pokes fun at the ongoing bullying scandal in Miami.

The NFL Players Association has now registered an objection to the company.

NFLPA spokesman George Attalah says via Twitter that he and Ahmad Nassar, Executive Vice President at NFL Players, Inc., wrote Spirit Airlines “voicing our displeasure at their tasteless ad.” The union asked Spirit Airlines to make a donation to anti-bullying organizations.

There’s football on and I’ve got all kinds of material. I guess I’ll stay out of the sights of the NFLPA for now. I’m an anonymous critic and even I don’t want the NFLPA releasing press releases about what they don’t like about how I operate. Other people and businesses would be wise to stay out of the cross-hairs of powerful groups that are paid big money to accomplish a variety of different types of agendas.

I saw a report just last week about how Spirit was the most profitable airline the last year. I guess they got bored of insanity, repeating the same thing over and over again.

Perpetual success is not for every passenger.

jakec4 says:Nov 14, 2013 8:52 PM

Some cheesy off brand airline thinking that any publicity is good publicity.

And by posting this article you are making the ad successful. I had never heard if the ad or seen it but the publicity you are giving it ( for free) is probably exactly what they were hoping for. Seriously you should send them a bill for ad space.

on the subject of spirit though no joke I got an e-mail from them today that said “We’re not smoking crack!” “Fly to the Toronto area for $29.90!”

ratbastardshanahandjob says:Nov 14, 2013 9:56 PM

Thanx Much for this story or I never would have seen the ad which is great. Screw the PC Police……

PS Martin is still a soft quitter and a rat…….

aboveaveragejoe11 says:Nov 14, 2013 10:01 PM

Bad taste is en vogue, but come on. I got this email from Spirit and was shocked. It was cheesy, dumb, unnecessary and showed bad judgment – not something I want in an airline. I immediately unsubscribed from their email list.

tjjohnson98 says:Nov 14, 2013 10:03 PM

People being mean to each other has been a “serious societal issue” since people were invented. Sorry to say, I doubt the NFL is going to fix that. Why so serious?

If the C.E.O. of Spirit Airlines was smart he’d call for an investigation as to why this happened and then form a committee to assist in creating better leadership at their headquarters. And be sincere about it for cryin’ out loud!

Deb says:Nov 14, 2013 10:09 PM

When I worked in corporate communications, a late-night comedian cracked a joke about our company. Against my supervisor’s advice, company execs insisted we craft a letter demanding an apology. The company was the butt of constant jokes for weeks. Sometimes it’s best to let these things slide.

craniator says:Nov 14, 2013 10:14 PM

“Let’s guarantee those contracts instead.”
________________________________________________
Right , so that a guy making , at the least , just under $400,000.00 a year is guaranteed the entire amount of his contract , even if he’s cut for poor performance , when few if any of us in the real world who make , in most cases , barely ten percent of that have no such protections. Yeah , okay . . .

annes22 says:Nov 14, 2013 10:16 PM

What do you expect from one of the worst airlines out there??? They could use a lesson in customer service, and obviously their ads are pathetic too.

The NFLPA needs to grow a sense of humor and cut the crap. There are real problems needing to be addressed – let’s start with the high number of the NFLPA’s own, highly paid, members who get arrested every year.

Let’s make a deal, union. We’ll all stop joking about football players when they stop giving us so much material to joke about.

hawkforlife says:Nov 14, 2013 10:24 PM

Using the royal “we” to lecture a private business that came up with something pretty funny is pretty bogus.

Why don’t you lecture NBC Sports, your parent company, for televising concussions and of course advise them to pay into anti-concussion charities.

Everyone in South Florida I know thought it was funny! NFLPA are bully’s.. Who do they think they are telling Spirit Airlines to donate money to anyone.. So absurd NFLPA should mind there own business period.

Rather than spend your time looking for outside organizations to criticize for their (admittedly) insensitive treatment of the Martin-Incognito affair, maybe you should devote your efforts to figuring out why this sort of behavior took place and was allowed to take place between two (or more) members whose interests you claim to be trying to (though are seemingly unable to) protect. Tacky ads are the least of your problems.

Spirit Airlines has to be the WORST airline in the world. They charge passengers for everything except breathing and their service sucks big time. It doesn’t surprise me they would produce ads like these, it fits their corporate mentality perfectly.

Punk says:Nov 15, 2013 8:26 AM

What is awesome about this is that Martin and Incognito are both pretty universally disliked over this ordeal.

Now we get to add the NFLPA to our list of things we hate about this situation.

Spirit, however, is not on that list.

somethingsmellsrotten says:Nov 15, 2013 10:51 AM

Absolutely hilarious! All you pansies are getting your panties bunched up over a frickin’ ad…get a life already.